Chapter 11: Two Months Later

Two months had passed since the night Ashley left. The Psychos were still bugging the Rangers, who were weaker now, despite having already killed Psycho Yellow. Andros wasn't able to fight for three weeks for having broken his wrist in that night. The other Rangers noticed that he had gone back to how he was when they met him. Distant, cold, quiet… He thought about Ashley everyday and every second. Everything on that ship reminded him of her. He had never played pool again or basketball or drank hot chocolate. He couldn't lead them no more, so TJ assumed that position silently.

That day, Andros was walking randomly around the Megaship. He had just found a picture of all the Rangers that had been taken on Ashley's birthday. He remembered perfectly that day.

(Flashback)

"Well guys, thank you so much for this party. I mean it!"

"There's nothing to thank for Ash…" – Carlos told her.

"And to remember this moment… what if we take a picture?" – Cassie questioned.

They grouped and asked a man that was passing by to take their picture. They were all laughing, as if they would be together forever.

(End Flashback)

Andros sighed as he looked at the picture again. He was in the middle of TJ and Carlos. Ashley was next to TJ and Cassie was next to Carlos. They were all smiling and Ashley had the necklace he gave her hanging around her neck.

"She wore that necklace everyday since then. She really liked it." – Andros thought. He kept walking, not knowing that TJ was staring at him. The Blue Ranger was shocked. He knew, as everyone on the ship, that there was some kind of special connection between Ashley and Andros, since the first day, that moment on that deserted planet when they first looked in each other's eyes. It was undeniable. They never thought she would leave that way, without any specific reason (apparently). Or that Andros would be so devastated that he would barely eat, sleep and, almost, breathe. "He's dying a little bit each day that passes, in front of us, and there's nothing we can do." - He took a breath and then turned back, to return to his duties.

Andros heard a noise, turned around and saw TJ walking away. "T.J…" – he called.

"Oh great… now he caught me!" – TJ thought. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you for taking my place. I'm not able to lead us anymore, and you're the perfect person to do it. I'm sorry for…"

TJ cut him off – "First, you don't have to be sorry for nothing Andros. As your friend, I'm here to help you every time you need me to. Because, as much as you don't think so, we're your friends and we really care about you, okay? How is your wrist?"

"It's almost as good as new. Don't worry; I'll be ready to fight again at 100 percent in a few days."

"I must confess that your wrist is not what worries me the most…"

"Sorry? I didn't catch that."

"Yes, you did. Man, you're tearing apart in front of our eyes. What did you expect? That we would not notice?" – TJ paused, before going on – "I've wanted to ask you this, for so much time… what happened? I mean, between you and Ash."

Andros sighed – "Well, I think you deserve to know. She left because of me. Because I despised her, knowing perfectly I was hurting her deep inside."

TJ was confused. "You did what? No, that's not possible."

Andros told him the whole story. How he had fallen for Ashley since the first minute. How he felt when she was in a coma, thanks to Darkonda's actions. How he acted with her after the kiss… and how he regretted it later.

"I just miss her… so much!" – He added, in a lower voice.

TJ didn't know what to say - "Don't blame yourself. Want an advice? I've known Ashley for almost five years now, and I know she will come back. Sooner than we think."

"I hope you're right. Thanks man." – Andros shook TJ's hand.

"You're welcome. Now, let's get back to the others, or they will think that we're planning something against them." – He joked.

(On Earth)

Meanwhile, on Earth, Ashley had arrived to the place that had been her house for the past two months. After leaving the Rangers, she went back to her parent's house, only for a couple of days, before she moved to the opposite side of Angel Grove. She was attending a new school, and had a part-time job in a shop. Her life had been turned upside down.

That day, after doing some homework and study a little bit, she tried to unpack more stuff. Since she moved in, she hadn't had time to take all of her stuff out of the boxes. As she was cleaning the dust out of some books, one of them fell to the floor and opened. Inside, it had that picture that had been taken on her last birthday. There she was, with the rest of the 'gang', all of them smiling.

"I miss them. I miss Cassie laughing, TJ giving orders, Carlos complaining, Zhane joking…" – she took a break, before staring at Andros's face – "I miss you Andros! But, I hope you understand that I can't come back…" – she said, painfully.

Suddenly, the doorbell rung. Ashley took a deep breath and got up. "Who is it?" – She asked when she got near the door.

"It's me, Brad." – A male voice answered.

Ashley hid the picture in the closest drawer and opened the door. "Hey Brad!" – She greeted.

"Hi sweetie" – He said as he got in and gave her a kiss – "So, ready for tonight?"

"Sorry… tonight? We didn't have plans for tonight."

"You forgot? We were going have dinner in this fancy restaurant and then we were going to Angel Grove's Park, watching the stars."

She had forgotten about their plans – "Sorry Brad. But I'm too tired to go out tonight and I still have some stuff to unpack."

"Oh! All right, no problem. But I can help you, if you want." - He offered.

"Oh, you don't need to. Really. I will get this done faster, by myself." – She explained. "Please, leave me alone tonight… I need to be alone" – she begged him, mentally.

"Ok. If you need something, just call me. See you tomorrow honey!" – he gave her a kiss and left.

"See you tomorrow!" – Ashley sighed, relieved, when she closed the door. She opened the drawer and grabbed the picture again. She walked into the living room and sat on the floor, in front of the sofa, holding the picture. They were really a 'pretty good team' as Andros had said once.

It was unbelievable. She had been with Cassie, TJ and Carlos for almost five years now. And everything remembered was related to Andros. His expressions, his shyness… no one had ever hit her as hard as that 'stripey boy'. Since the day, he de-morphed for the first time, in front of her, on that deserted planet.

(Flashback)

"Power down!"

The Red Ranger demorphed in front of them. They all got stunned. Ashley walked in his direction, looking attentively at all the details of this new 'mate'.

"You're human." – She commented, some seconds later, after poking his shoulder. "And incredibly cute" - she thought to herself.

He seemed upset. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know…I mean, you're not from Earth, are you?" – She asked.

"Earth isn't the only place where humans live. I'm from a space colony, KO-35. It's in the Karova System."

The others kept talking and making questions, but Ashley was just staring at him. Suddenly, she heard Cassie introducing herself – "Hey, I'm Cassie. It's really nice to meet you."

"And I'm… Ashley" – she smiled. He didn't seem much interested in who she were.

(End Flashback)

Tears were trying to fall again. She felt like she was being smashed against the wall – "I hope you can forgive me one day Andros." – She whispered.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Review please. This chapter is to SweetSaS. Thanks for you support and for all the reviews, you've submitted. 